my frosty toes

Romulus scoffed and gave a dramatic roll of his eyes when his monochromatic companion boasted about how he could never beat her. So what if he'd lost the fight on the beach? It was only because he'd lost his footing in the sand! Or the sun was in his eyes! Definitely not because he'd actually had his ass handed to him by a wolf almost half his size, surely not! "All right then, cocky. We'll see who's eating a mouthful of snow by the end of this," he retorted, already bristling and eager for their spar, but he was also enjoying their conversation as they walked through the winter wonderland together.

Lillith's next question took him by surprise. When he'd offered her the floor to ask him anything she wanted, he'd anticipated something like his favorite season, or favorite memory from his childhood, or something else equally expected. Her asking if he missed his home and wished he was back there caught the young man off guard, glancing down to Lil with wide eyes and mouth opened in shock. "I guess I miss the familiarity and the memories I made there, sure. But in the Armada clan, family is everything. Wherever your family is, is your home." He gave Lillith a small, hopefully reassuring smile and leaned down to boop his nose against hers. "You're my family now, Lil, so my home is where you are. Do I miss my siblings and parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles? Sure. But I wouldn't give this adventure up for anything. And I wouldn't wish to be anywhere else right now."

Well, okay, maybe that last bit was a little white lie. He might have wished he was back in the Hallows castle, snuggled up to Lillith in her warm, plush bed, practicing those kisses the two of them were so fond of. That would be the only other place he'd wish to be right now. But this right now was important! It was testing Lil's endurance and stamina, helping her build up the strength to go farther in preparation for their Northern Lights trip. "My turn," he said, wish a little devilish twinkle in his silver-toned eyes. "If you could have any one thing in the world right now, object, action, or moment, what would you want?" Part of him expected her to say more kisses, but he was curious to see what she'd respond with.

"Speech"